Anti-DMCA clause (was Re: GPL v3 Draft

[Nathanael Nerode <neroden@twcny.rr.com>]

Arnoud Engelfriet <arnoud@engelfriet.net> wrote:
> I think the DMCA actually speaks about "access to the work"
> (17 U.S.C. 1201):
> 
>    (2) No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide,
>    or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device,
>    component, or part thereof, that--
> 
>    (A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing
>        a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work
>        protected under this title;
>    (...)
> 
> And "access" is defined such that I don't think it covers
> copying of the protected work:
> 
>    (3) As used in this subsection--
> 
>    (A) to "circumvent a technological measure" means to descramble a
>        scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted work, or otherwise to
>        avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a technological
>        measure, without the authority of the copyright owner;  and
>    (B) a technological measure "effectively controls access to a
>        work" if the measure, in the ordinary course of its operation,
>        requires the application of information, or a process or a
>        treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain
>        access to the work.
> 
> http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/17usc1201.htm

Hrrm.  We need a different clause then.

"No program licensed under this License, which accesses a work, shall require 
the authority of the copyright owner for that work, in order to gain access 
to that work.  Accordingly, no program licensed under this License is a 
technological measure which effectively controls access to any work."

Think that will do it?  The point here is that the "authority of the copyright 
owner" cannot be enforced technologically, only legally.  So this doesn't 
actually impose any restrictions on the content of the program, and it's 
true.  (The program can still require the application of information, or a 
process or a treatment, but can't require the authority of the copyright 
owner).

(Incidentally, the DMCA text makes me think of South Park: "respect my 
authoriteh!")

We need to see the clauses from countries with similar DMCA-like laws to 
successfully eviscerate them as well.